Albums of 2021
by Killian Laher

I’m not going to attempt to answer the question of gigs this year, but albums? As touring is off the cards for the next few months, you can expect a lot of new material. First off, it’s going be a good start to the year for those who like Scottish bands.  Mogwai will release their umpteenth album As The Love Continues in February, and based on the first track from it Dry Fantasy the band are sticking solidly to what they know.

A blast from the past, Arab Strap prepare to release their seventh album altogether and their first in 15 years,  As The Day Gets Dark comes out in early March and here’s The Turning of Our Bones

After that?  Ambient gods A Winged Victory for the Sullen will release Invisible Cities in February, a score for a theatrical production.  Here’s Desires Are Already Memories.

Tindersticks will release a new album, Distractions, which will feature a Television Personalities cover.

The most productive man in rock, Mark Lanegan has promised an album Leaving California, with Joe Cardamone of Icarus Line.  Recorded as Dark Mark vs Skelton Joe, they released a taster at the back end of the year

But he’s not stopping there, he’s planning another Mark Lanegan Band album, an album with Jimi Goodwin of Doves, plus a full length with his wife as Black Phoebe.  Boa Morte are upping their own work rate significantly with album number four on the way in 2021.  By The Time will give you an idea as to how it sounds.

Dinosaur Jr have an album Sweep It Into Space pencilled in for release in April, while Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains is recording his third solo album.  Willy Vlautin will be publishing his sixth novel The Night Always Comes in April which should be a cheerful read.  Lockdown heroes Low spent all of their Fridays in 2020 entertaining us with their performances on Instagram (Friday I’m In Low) and are looking at an August release for an album It’s Not Broken, I’m Not Angry.

Reformed shoegazers Slowdive are planning a more electronic album for October, Preoccupations are also recording an album, while Steve Gunn is looking at following up The Unseen In Between in the autumn.  Ryley Walker‘s new album is apparently a cross between Genesis and Gastr Del Sol.

Closer to home, Pat Barrett will hopefully release a full-length album as Arrivalists, possibly titled The Last of the Written Pages, while Aoife Nessa Frances played some new songs on her recent Other Voices gig which augured well.  Apparently, Adrian Crowley has an album on the way in 2021, and possibly Chequerboard too.

Positive signs from The Antlers for a first album in seven years with a new song or two released: It Is What It Is.

Lloyd Cole is preparing an album for release in early summer, and we may get a new studio album from War On Drugs and Snail Mail.  The Cure supposedly have a ‘heavy and dark’ record, possibly titled Live From The Moon which may emerge and Nick Cave, having cancelled his tour, says it’s time to make an album.  Finally, Paul Buchanan’s recently opened instagram account https://www.instagram.com/paulbuchananofficial/ might be a sign of something…